Verizon Communications said it would buy AOL in a deal valued at about $4.4 billion.

** PALL CORP, Monday close $99.31, +20.00 pct premarket

The water and air filter maker is in the final stages of an auction that could value the company at more than $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

** RACKSPACE HOSTING INC, Monday close $53.13, -13.80 pct premarket

The Web hosting company forecast current-quarter revenue below analysts’ expectations and said a strong dollar hurt its revenue growth in the first quarter.

CLSA cut its rating on the company’s stock to “outperform” from “buy”. Morgan Stanley cut its rating to “equal-weight”, according to Benzinga.com. At least four brokerages cut their price targets on the stock by as much as $5 to as low as $50.

** STMICROELECTRONICS NV, Monday close $7.76, +6.83 pct premarket

The European semiconductor maker said on Tuesday that it expected second-quarter revenue to grow about 3.5 percent, squarely in the middle of the guidance the company issued two weeks ago.

** APPLE INC, Monday close $126.32, -0.77 pct premarket

** MICROSOFT CORP, Monday close $47.37, -0.95 pct premarket

Australia has proposed new legislation to tighten tax loopholes that the conservative government says have allowed around 30 of the world’s largest multinational companies to avoid paying taxes. With the new measures, Australia will join Britain in leading a crackdown on companies such as Google Inc , Apple and Microsoft, focusing on their alleged shifting of profits from high-tax countries to low or no tax regimes.

Separately, Apple is in talks with Chinese banks and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on launching the firm’s mobile payments system in China, Chief Executive Tim Cook told the official Xinhua news agency in an interview published on Tuesday.

** GOOGLE INC, Monday close $545.78, -0.69 pct premarket

The internet search company’s self-driving cars have been involved in 11 accidents, but have not been the cause of any, over the last six years since the project began, the program’s director said on Monday.

** EXXONMOBIL CORP, Monday close $86.78, +0.02 pct premarket

The oil producer has begun ramping up production at a new Indonesian oilfield, targeting peak output later this year of more than 200,000 barrels per day that will add to an already oversupplied crude market.

** GENERAL ELECTRIC CO, Monday close $26.92, -0.67 pct premarket

European Union antitrust regulators have resumed their investigation into General Electric’s 12.4-billion-euro ($13.97 billion) bid for Alstom’s energy unit after receiving requested data from the U.S. conglomerate.

** ACTAVIS PLC, Monday close $301.74, -0.25 pct premarket

The drugmaker expects its full-year revenue to rise at least 57 percent, helped by double-digit growth from the Allergan business it bought in March.

** DUPONT, Monday close $75.4

Nelson Peltz, activist investor and principal of hedge fund Trian Fund Management, told CNBC on Monday that the prospects for a last-minute settlement with DuPont in a proxy battle were “dim”.

** METLIFE INC, Monday close $53.3

The U.S. government said on Monday that MetLife’s lawsuit fighting its designation as being systemically important to the economy, often referred to as “too big to fail”, should be dismissed.

** BHP BILLITON LTD, Monday close $51.09, +1.31 pct premarket

The world’s largest mining company said on Tuesday that it would slash its iron ore production cost further and cut spending to better withstand a downturn in commodity prices.

** MYLAN NV, Monday close $71.63

** PERRIGO CO PLC, Monday close $193.58

Mylan Chairman Robert Coury said he might sweeten the company’s offer for Perrigo by adding terms that would reduce risk to Perrigo’s shareholders, sources told Bloomberg on Monday.

** TESLA MOTORS INC, Monday close $239.49

The electric car maker said it would modify the new electric vehicles it produces for China to fit the national charging standard in the world’s biggest automobile market once that standard has been set.

** ENDO INTERNATIONAL PLC, Monday close $86.66

South African drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd said on Monday that it would sell a part of its local business to a unit of Endo for 1.6 billion rand ($134 million).

** ENCANA CORP, Monday close $13.87, -0.36 pct premarket

The Canadian largest natural gas producer reported a 98 percent drop in quarterly operating profit, hurt mainly by a steep drop in oil and natural gas prices.

** AEROJET ROCKETDYNE HOLDINGS INC, Monday close $20.5

Aerojet Rocketdyne and two other firms said on Monday that they were exploring options to obtain data rights to the Atlas 5 launch vehicle and to swap its Russian-built engine with the AR1 engine that Aerojet Rocketdyne is developing. (Compiled by Anet Josline Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)